My last primary duty weapon was a S&W 625 .45 acp. I shot with the bottomfeeders and generally could out reload them as I used full moon clips and practiced an awfull lot as my life depended on it. I used to be teased ref. to the revolver but that usually stopped after the smoke cleared. I will state that if I were working today I would opt for a Glock as times have changed as has the bad guys proficiancy with weapons as well as the quality of their weapons.
Annual Qualifications
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dang nip...guess you didn't have a chance to review their policy book before you posted huh?
LOLOLOL!
00Buck2
Member
We are required to qualify with our Glock and it is the only approved weapon to carry in our holster on a duty belt while in uniform. We have an off duty and back up Q courses. Off duty is the full course and back up is 15 yds and closer. ex: Kimber off duty, LCP backup
Not to brag, but I can do what you did there. Easy. I do have problems with people saying they never actually see me shoot. Then there are all the questions about the powder burns on the targets. I have to keep explaining over and over that it's just the bullets fragmenting when they hit bugs and such on the way down range. GO FIGURE.
OP
Palmetto Sharpshooter
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Thanks and I don't know what the badge is. I coached their team when it came over in 1994. This was one the items they gave me. I would have posted a photo of the vodka they brought but it is long gone.
And the "most" didn't make this decision on a whim. I've posted this before, but some may have missed it, so I'll post it again here.
"Revolvers vs Semi-Automatic Pistols for Police Service"
Let me begin by stating that I love revolvers, but, the fact is, the revolver's day is over as the best choice for a service weapon.
I retired from the New Jersey State Police in 1991, so I was around during our transition from revolvers to semi-automatic pistols with over half my career being in the revolver era. The last two incidents in which Jersey Troopers were shot while armed with revolvers (and which prompted our switch to the H&K P7M8 in 1982) both involved lone troopers facing assailants (in one case, multiple assailants) armed with high-capacity semi-automatic pistols. Both troopers emptied their six-shooters and both were shot and incapacitated (one seriously wounded and Trooper Phil Lamonaco fatally wounded) before they were able to reload.
It is fun to wax nostalgic about the "good old days" of revolvers, but any advantages they may have are far outweighed by the cold facts that their ammunition capacity is minimal and they are just too slow to reload under fire compared to the semi-automatic pistol. It is a virtual certainty that as a police officer today, if you have the misfortune of facing armed criminals, you will be facing one or more assailants armed with high-capacity semi-automatic pistols. No matter how proficient you may be with a revolver, this is not a good situation to be in.
I would no more want to be a police officer armed with a revolver in today's world than I would want to be armed with an '03 Springfield bolt-action rifle in a modern combat environment. The term "under-gunned" describes a real world situation and it is for valid, life-and-death reasons why today's police forces are almost universally armed with semi-automatic pistols.
The new Smith & Wesson 7 and 8 shot revolvers help to level the playing field a bit, but if I were to put on the uniform again, I would be holstering my Heckler & Koch P30LS .40 S&W or some other tried and true semi-automatic pistol.
***Note***
Please don't view this as a criticism of anyone's decision to carry a revolver. It isn't. We are all adults here and we all make our own choices for our own reasons. I am simply stating that I strongly believe the professional law enforcement officer is best served and most capable of protecting themselves and the citizens they are sworn to protect by arming themselves with a high quality semi-automatic pistol.
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jdh
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Spray and Pray with a high capacity autoloader is not the way to win a gunfight and places non-involved persons at risk. Tactics and marksmanship are more effective skills. Alas, my touting of these radical ideas served to have me banished from the pistol range to instructing on everyone's favorite LE firearm, the shotgun.
Sgt405
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I started in 1975, with a wheelgun of course. I still think they are viable service weapons. On duty was a Model 10 and off was a Colt Diamondback. Then a Model 58. Now in my "later years" I am lucky that my Chief is a died in the wool 1911 fan. Thats what I carry. I qualify with it and my 442 backup. Yes I have Glocks, Berettas, S&Ws but a 1911 in my hand is perfect.
Damn Yankee
Member
How do you get by shooting 3.6 of Bullseye? I carry 686 for my duty weapon and use 357 145 Silvertip's. For qualification I load 158 grain with 8.5 grs of 800X. Never shot perfect but always in the 200's out of 250.
Model39
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Annual HR-218 Qualifications
Now that all the confusion/wording was straightened out up here last year allowing us to get our HR-218 certification cards, I will be qualifying each June. Last year when I qualified, I used my old duty gun, a 4" no dash Model 66. I was the only one using a revolver in the entire group. I do own alot of automatics, and have nothing against them, but you can't beat a revolver. Simple to use, almost no mechanical problems, and they shoot where you point them, as long as your sights are in alignment. I say to Palmetto Sharpshooter, stick with a revolver.
Now that all the confusion/wording was straightened out up here last year allowing us to get our HR-218 certification cards, I will be qualifying each June. Last year when I qualified, I used my old duty gun, a 4" no dash Model 66. I was the only one using a revolver in the entire group. I do own alot of automatics, and have nothing against them, but you can't beat a revolver. Simple to use, almost no mechanical problems, and they shoot where you point them, as long as your sights are in alignment. I say to Palmetto Sharpshooter, stick with a revolver.
Other than stating the obvious, I don't understand the point of this statement. I know you can't possibly be claiming that everyone who carries a "high capacity" semi-automatic weapon is, by nature, a "spray and pray" shooter. If you are a skilled and disciplined shooter before you pick up a semi-automatic or automatic weapon, you'll remain a skilled and disciplined shooter; the weapon type won't change this. As in most cases, proper training is the key.
Roadranger
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Being a retired trooper myself, I agree with X trooper about it being a killing field in the real world. I started in 1974 with a revolver, a M66, just like everbody else. Since being retired, I have no departmental regulations and usually use a different gun each year to quailify. This year, April 8, I used a M657 41 Magnum, 4" just because I could with light magnum 170 gr. Sierra bullets. My real world go to gun is a P226 in 357Sig or 9mm. I keep a Mossberg 590 under the back seat in my Z71 just in case. Bob!
panamajack310
Member
You are so lucky, My agency just banned me from carrying revolvers last year as none of the instructors know about revolvers and they are afraid that no one can use my gun and reload it if I get hurt. I say you are a lucky man to still be able to carry a revolver. I am now stuck to only carry my Glock 22 "which I think are the worst guns in the world! MAN I HATE GLOCKS!!!" I was carrying my 625 and 19 as duty and back up gun...Last year I even got to carry my model 544 in 44-40...
johnsonl
Member
Faulty ammo would be my guess, however, shooting in bright sunlight will cause the shiny bullets to reflect and scorch the target as they pass through.
I'm just sayin', it's pretty common...
...especially if the loser buys lunch.
johnsonl
Member
One of my favorite practical excersises as an FI was to stage several different types of handguns and long guns at various shooting positions on the tactical range. The shooter would approach a position, take cover and engage the target as best they could. Some shooters were very familiar with all types of firearms and some were not. The wise ones did what they could with what they had and moved to another position if they chose not to pick up a firearm that they were not familiar with. Every shooter managed to learn something about themselves on that course.
MOONDAWG - I'm confused by what you are saying here. Are you citing a 50-year average, or are you citing an annual average and saying it is unchanged over the past 50 years?
elm_creek_smith
US Veteran
Our semi-annual qualification is in May. All but three of us carry Glock 22s. Our boss carries a Nighthawk .45 ACP. Bill and I carry issued pre-lock/pre-MIM S&W Model 686-1s.
Last year, with a 96% I beat everyone except the boss with my 6-shooter. The course of fire is 25 rounds from 25 (6 rds), 15 (2 rds), 7 (4 rds), 5 (4 rds), 3 (6 rds), and 1 (3 rds) yards. We qualify with service ammo, and the .357 Magnum ammo is Remington 125 grain Golden Saber.
This year I'm just coming off a surgical absence, so we'll see.
ECS
Last year, with a 96% I beat everyone except the boss with my 6-shooter. The course of fire is 25 rounds from 25 (6 rds), 15 (2 rds), 7 (4 rds), 5 (4 rds), 3 (6 rds), and 1 (3 rds) yards. We qualify with service ammo, and the .357 Magnum ammo is Remington 125 grain Golden Saber.
This year I'm just coming off a surgical absence, so we'll see.
ECS
jdh
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It would appear enough of "us" are when you consistently see headlines like OFFICERS FIRE 98 ROUNDS, GUNMAN SUFFERS 3 MINOR INJURIES.
What I am saying is do not let the plethora of ammo in your pistol and on your belt lull you into a false sense of invulnerability.
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